Contribution per bird

Revenue per bird less the live bird, inbound transport and processing cost. R18.88 on own account against R2.68 on contract slaughter — the spread the whole business earns.

Contract or toll slaughter

Processing birds the customer owns for a fee. Fills the line during the ramp but cannot carry the fixed cost base: break-even on toll alone is 31 961 birds a day.

Dressed yield

Eviscerated carcass weight as a percentage of live weight received. 73.0% in this plan; two points is worth R3 071 016 of annual EBITDA at single-shift capacity.

High-throughput abattoir

A plant slaughtering above 2 000 birds a day, requiring a full mechanised line, continuous inspection presence and a higher infrastructure standard under the Meat Safety Act.

Hygiene management system

The documented HMS with HACCP-based controls required for registration and audited on a cycle.

HPAI

Highly pathogenic avian influenza. The 2023 outbreak involved H5N1 and H7N6, was the worst in South African history and resulted in 7.5 million birds being culled.

IQF

Individually quick frozen portions — the commodity reference at about R35.38 a kilogram, against this plant’s blended R49.48.

Low-throughput abattoir

A plant slaughtering up to 2 000 birds a day. Break-even at this scale is 2 296 birds a day, above the category’s own legal ceiling.

Meat Safety Act 40 of 2000

The Act under which no animal may be slaughtered for human consumption other than at a registered abattoir. Registration and grading are granted by the provincial executive officer.

Own-account processing

Buying live birds and selling the products, as against processing for a fee. Rises from 62% of throughput in Year 1 to 82% at maturity.

Section 20 limitation

The South African rule capping the set-off of assessed losses at the higher of R1 million or 80% of taxable income in any year.

Spread

The gap between what the plant pays for a live bird and what it realises for the products that come off it. Contribution reaches zero at a live price of R34.17 a kilogram.